We registered early as we have plans mid-summer and unable to make any of the other dates until later in summer. I have no idea what to expect - whether we drop our daughter off and do our stuff until we pick her up the end of next day. And whether being an early orientation will not have as many students participating.
I would appreciate if anyone can give an idea of what to expect. Thanks!
Follow this link for links to the orientation schedules (depending on if your student is a standard first year student, honors, or freshman connection): http://www.orientation.umd.edu/dates.html . It provides the logistics of the student and parent sides of orientation.
Usually, all the orientation days at the beginning of the summer have a ton of students, contrary to popular belief! It’s always good to have a beginning of the summer orientation, since it gives you a better selection of classes to choose from (but you can always change your schedule later in the summer, if you find that it doesn’t work for you).
HIGHLY recommend making a prototype schedule with many alternatives BEFORE orientation (can be done with a site called CourseOff that a lot of UMD students use, alongside a site called PlanetTerp, which offers up-to-date professor and class reviews/statistics). This will ensure that you know exactly what sections work for you before orientation (where everyone is scrambling to register).
I’m not sure if you’re an MD local, but its’ going to be humid and gross. Tell your daughter to bring a water bottle and dress for the hot weather. There’s a lot of walking around (but I thought it was really cool and fun, since it was my first time seeing UMD!)
As of what to expect, I can only speak of what I know from the students’ perspective. It’s a lot of information being thrown at you (but it’s all online so I didn’t feel super overwhelmed or pressured to remember it all) and a LOT of excitement. You meet a lot of people, but you hardly remember (most of) them, since you end up making some AMAZING friends once the year truly starts, so don’t worry about making long-lasting friendships, just enjoy your time there at orientation! (And make sure you have everything done like the math placement test and forms before you get to orientation).
Hope this helps! Let me know if you want me to go into more detail about anything or if you have any questions.
Here is a summary that I posted 4 years ago
We just finished a 2 day Honors Orientation. Check-in went well at Cole. Parents and students checked in through different lines. Everyone got info folders and name tags. The Health forms were turned in by the students. There was coffee, OJ, bagels and cookies.
A little before 9, we were all lead to Stamp. Dr Dorland welcomed everyone. They showed a short video and Dr Dorland discussed several noteworthy past Honors College graduates. It was a good talk.
The kids were then lead away in groups by college, ENGR, BUSINESS, CMNS, etc. Each group had 2 Orientation student leader. Some multiple groups, i.e ENGR. After the kids leave for their own sessions at 10, the parents are no longer involved in what they do. They handle the advising and registration on their own with their Academic Advisor. You will be able to pick them up around 2:30 of the second day. That is when you see them again. They are kept VERY busy for the 2 days.
The parents then had a presentation about academic adiving and class schedule from Dean Hebert. Dean is his name, not his title. He talked about the schedules students want (all classes between 10 and 2, on Tuesdays and Thursdays only) and what they usually get (8:30 am every day). He explaine AP/IB credits and waitlists, and how they hold some Honors seminar seat for Freshman only.
Then it was time for lunch. We walked to the South campus dining hall. The choices were: salad, chicken, deli, pasta, pizza, and soda to drink. It was about what you would expect.
At 12, we walked to the Biology building, in the same groups that the kids were split into, with the same Student orientation Reps, and we were able to ask them anything we wanted. Question ranged from dorm roommates to dining plans to playing musical instruments.
All the different groups of parents were in the same lecture hall.
Then there began a series of 20-30 minute presentations on a variety of topics:
Counseling services for students - bottom line, it is protected by patient-doctor privilege and they wont talk to you about it;
Parent and family affairs - bottom line, they are there to support you and your kid, but there is a Federal Law, FERPA, that prevents them form sharing any info with you, even if your kid is only 16, unless the student grants you a waiver and gives you a PIN for access They also showed a YouTube video that got a great reaction;
Health Services - You can apply for a waiver from the University health plan, but it MUST be done online and you should check to see if the Unversity Health Services are in-network for your insurance. They offer a lot of services;
Billing - your student must add your email to the billing notifications and there are 8 and 10 month payment plans that require a paper application to be mailed in (this can now be done online)
ResLife - nothing really new there - it’s all on the web site;
Dining Plans - pick the cheapest one and include a TerpExpress account;
Technology - you can buy laptops and warranties from them - MACs or Dells;
Safety - very interesting. = presented by the Head of the UMD police force, a former head of the MD State Police and Security Head for the Dept of Homeland Security - the 2 biggest problems seem to theft and drunks. He said thay are not worried about a freshman having his/her first or second beer, but their 10th or 12th beer and getting falling down drunk. In those cases, they call an ambulance ($750 a ride billed to the student) and send them to a hospital. No arrest, but it may go into their Academic record for all future employers to see, if they don’t complete some on-campus rehab. For theft, they use phones, laptops, and bikes, equipped with GPS trackers to catch the thieves. Also, every vehicle entering the campus has it’s license plate recorded and run through various data bases. There are also hundreds of cameras on the campus. If your kid goes skinny dipping in a fountain at night, it will be on video tape. The UMD police force is internationally cerified and their jurisdiction has been expanded to include the city of College Park - they also have an IED sniffing K-9 unit. The dogs do NOT sniff for drugs.
Then a final Q&A session with Dr Dorland and Mr Hebert.
Day 2 was a trip to Annapolis with the Dean of Orientation. Very Good. We toured the Naval Academy and took a sightseeing boat ride around the bay. Lunch was great. There was some rain throughout the day
On the drive home. our D said that her Advisor was very nice, helpful and was able to answer all her questions and she is happy with her class schedule. She had 3 hours to work everything out. On the first day, they make it clear that the University’s “contract” is with the student, NOT the parent. They want to support you, the parent, but they expect the student to make their own decisions and deal with whatever comes up.
Thanks very much, @whenyoubelieve and @SoofDad !
Looking forward to it very much. My husband and I did not sign up for the Terp Trips on the 2nd day and decided to do something downtown by ourselves. Hope that was not a big miss!
Oh, I do have a question. We have not received an information on where she will be staying the night and so on. DO we just show up with the bedding and over-night bag to register?
I believe that all the Orientation sessions use Easton Hall for the overnight. Back when we did it,there were people directing us where to go. You will check into the Dorm, get a key, and take your stuff to the assigned room. It may be a good idea to get there a little early. Maybe someone with more recent experience can provide an update.
@sunparent I had my orientation a year ago, so I can give you some updated information.
Orientation dorming is usually in one of the high-rises in the Denton Community (by the Clarice and the football stadium). My orientation session was in Denton, but I’ve heard people had sessions where they were in Easton. Same community and very similar rooms, nevertheless. It’s the same process as SoofDad described! Definitely get there early so that you don’t feel rushed to do anything. There are tons of orientation officers (current UMD students!) that will help you along the way and give instructions and more information on everything that’s going on when you get there. (Also, don’t forget to bring toiletries and a towel, since the humidity can get rough with all the walking around the first day and there are showers)
One comment I will add is that it’s important to know that they take your photo for your student ID on day 2. I know girls will care more about outfit and makeup, but even guys can get screwed over by not knowing about this/ planning…during my son’s orientation there was a torrential downpour and he had no hat, jacket, nor umbrella and he seriously looked worse than a drowned rat in his photo!!! He conveniently “lost” it later, which was an added expense (minor but not the point) but his photo was so beyond bad that I was all too happy he “had” to get a replacement…
Also, since my son was in scholars, he stayed overnight in one of the Cambridge quad dorms…
@SoofDad I had heard from another parent recently that they stopped showing that video(or at least didn’t show it when she went)…I imagine there was some outraged/offended parent along the way that identified too closely with that type of parenting…gotta love politcal correctness…
Btw, congrats on your daughter’s graduation!!!
@sunparent - how did everything go at orientation?